Saxophonist Jukka Perko first made a name for himself in the world of jazz at the Pori Jazz Festival in the summer of 1986 when he was just a teenager. The following year, he was invited to join trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie’s 70th anniversary tour orchestra. Since then, the rhythmics of jazz and the flight of imagination found in Perko’s work have joined forces with the beating heart of Finnish music, from the robust harmony of hymns to the music of Olavi Virta. Perko has also been active in the quintet Jukka Perko Viisikko and the Perko-Pyysalo-Viinikainen Trio. Since 2002, Perko has been the artistic director of Viapori Jazz, a jazz festival held in Suomenlinna.